Shards of Me
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Not part of my main timeline. Following the end of the Pharaoh's Memories arc, Yami Bakura seems to have mysteriously returned with no explanation. But something seems off. Is the truth much darker?


**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

 **Shards of Me**

 **By Lucky_Ladybug**

 **Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! This is a random idea I got and wanted to try out. It doesn't take place in my main timeline. I may write an expanded version of it sometime, but right now I'm just testing the waters to see how it looks.**

It was shortly after everyone returned from Egypt that the strange incidents began. Bakura ran to school, his eyes wide and terrified, insisting that Yami Bakura was back even without the Ring and still wanted revenge. Bakura had heard him, he insisted, and he was back because of having bound his spirit to Bakura's.

The others were stunned and in disbelief. Yugi especially was horrified. How could such a thing have happened? If the spirit of the Ring still existed at all, he should have been released into the afterlife. Instead, it seemed that Bakura's nightmare was just continuing as it had done before. It didn't make sense, but any lingering doubt stopped when Yugi received a disturbing phone call the following day.

"Hello, Yugi," a familiar voice laughed. "Weren't expecting to hear from me again, eh?"

"What are you doing back?!" Yugi demanded. "The Pharaoh is the one you wanted, and he's not here anymore!"

"I wonder if my presence will pull him back from the afterlife," was the mocking reply. "Just remember to always watch over your shoulder, Yugi, for you never know when I will be there!" And he hung up.

Yugi was left staring dumbly at the phone. "It really is true," he whispered. "If one of the spirits had to come back, why couldn't it have been the Pharaoh? Why did it have to be the spirit of the Ring? And worse, without the Millennium Items, how am I going to stop him?!"

The next day, Bakura arrived at school and something felt off. His hair seemed far more wild than usual, but more than that, he had a sneer for Yugi as they met.

"Why are you here?!" Yugi demanded as the controlled boy approached.

"At school or on the mortal plane?" Yami Bakura quipped.

"Both," Yugi said. "But especially, why are you taking over Bakura at school?"

"Why not?" Yami Bakura shrugged. "There is still much to learn about this modern age. I do so want to fit in." He was clearly mocking Bakura's voice as he spoke.

"You'll never fit in," Yugi retorted.

"You might be surprised," Yami Bakura chuckled. "I always managed to fool you before."

"But you won't anymore!" Yugi vowed.

Then the teacher stepped into the room and they were forced to be quiet.

Over the next several days came other phone calls and once or twice, other personal encounters. But after each one, Yugi felt that something was wrong. The voice was right. What was said was right. And yet . . . there hadn't been any life-threatening disasters. It wasn't like Yami Bakura to show up and mock and say things without anything coming of them. He never did anything without a reason, and even though he liked it, his reason was never solely to cause psychological torture. That was Yami Marik's style.

"If Atem were here, he could figure this out," Yugi whispered to himself.

But Atem wasn't there. Yugi had to figure it out on his own. And the more he thought and pondered, the more a dark thought took hold of his heart. He didn't want to believe it, but it fit all the puzzle pieces so well. It really had to be the answer. The only question left was _Why?!_

There was only one person who could answer. So, taking a deep breath, Yugi took a walk to Bakura's home and knocked on the door, bracing himself for what was on the other side.

As he stepped backed and waited for someone to come, he couldn't help but take notice of how lonely everything looked. There was no van in the driveway, but there only was when Bakura's father was home, which was hardly ever. The yard was taken care of, but the house looked empty, though it was not.

The door finally opened. Yami Bakura was standing there, his hair wild as usual and an open can of soda in his hand. "Ah, so you've come at last, Yugi," he smirked. "I wondered how long it would take you to decide to make the journey. And it was because of me that you came, of course. Not because of the boy."

Yugi felt a stab in his heart. It was true. He and the others had asked Bakura how he was doing at school, and once or twice they had invited him over, but mostly they had left him to his own devices, as they had always done. It was only when this new threat had appeared had they started to pay him more attention again.

"I came for both of you," he said evenly. "I don't want you to hurt Bakura any more."

"Oh? Are you so sure I ever did?" Yami Bakura pushed away from the door and walked into the living room. "He didn't ever see what I was up to. I wanted him to keep his innocence. And at least I was around. None of you goody-two-shoes ever were."

Yugi took a deep breath. "Is that what this is about . . . Ryou Bakura?" He took a step closer. "You're not the spirit of the Ring, are you."

Yami Bakura turned away, but not before Yugi saw him flinch. "Of course I am," he spat. "You know the boy doesn't talk like this."

"You can get all the gravel out of your voice and talk like him," Yugi pointed out. "Why couldn't he put the gravel in and talk like you?"

". . . He could," Yami Bakura conceded.

"But why would he want to?" Yugi softly asked. "Is it to get attention? . . . To get the attention we should have been giving him anyway?"

"Only partially." The gravel was still there, but it was slipping.

Yugi realized with a sinking heart that he was right. "Then what's the rest of it, Bakura?" he pleaded. "Tell me, please. Why would you pretend to be someone so horrible?"

"Because at least with him around, I wasn't all alone!" Bakura finally cried in his own voice. "It's true that he did terrible things, and that I was even afraid of him and didn't want him controlling my body, but now that he's gone, the silence is so . . . so _loud!_ No one knows him better than I do; I wanted to trick myself into believing he's still with me!"

Yugi was at a loss. "Bakura," he gasped. "No loneliness could be worth him coming back!"

Bakura spun around, the tears glistening, unshed, in his brown eyes. "You wouldn't understand, Yugi. No one could understand, except someone else who's been all alone. It's such a curse, coming home to an empty house day after day. My mother and sister are dead. My father is always traveling. I never agreed with what the spirit of the Ring wanted to do, but he was _here._ He would talk to me sometimes, but even when he didn't, he was _here._ I could always feel his presence, and that was comforting in some odd way. I know you probably think that makes me some sort of demon too, but . . . oh Yugi, I miss him so much!" He fell to his knees, choking back a sob.

Yugi had no words. He just stood, staring at the tortured boy in shock. "I had no idea," he said in sickened sadness.

Bakura dug his fingers into his hair, trembling as he continued. "Everyone thought he probably beat my body up all the time because he was so masochistic, but he didn't! The only time I was ever hurt was during Battle City!"

"And the time he put you in the game," Yugi quietly reminded. _But even once or twice is being hurt too many times,_ he silently added. Still, he had to admit that Yami Bakura had not harmed Bakura ever since seeing how badly the wound in his arm had bothered him. Yami Bakura had even protected him against the blast from Slifer, although of course he had said the reason was because he needed the boy's body and soul intact. Naturally he would never admit to caring, especially to the Pharaoh. But . . . could he have cared?

"Being put in the game didn't really hurt," Bakura said. "And he thought I'd help him. He never expected me to betray him. I couldn't have done anything else, but . . ." He trailed off. "Yugi, he wasn't all bad!" He looked at the other boy, his dark eyes filled with insistence. "He'd had a horrible life, filled with loneliness and sorrow. He only wanted justice. Or at least, he did before that terrible Zorc creature took over. Zorc was the true enemy! Why didn't the Pharaoh try to save the spirit of the Ring? Why did he just let him be destroyed with Zorc?!"

"I . . . I don't know," Yugi stammered. "Maybe he thought he was too far gone. Maybe he thought the spirit of the Ring was just Zorc. Maybe there was no time because Zorc was destroying everything."

"Or maybe he was too consumed by hatred himself to really think about it!" Bakura retorted. "He wasn't above feeling hatred any more than anyone else is! And why wouldn't he hate, what with everything that was happening?!"

"I don't believe Atem would let that control what he did!" Yugi insisted. "He even wanted to save Dartz after everything _he_ did!"

Bakura barreled on as if he hadn't heard. "I know what the spirit did was abominable, but a lot of it was Zorc! I know it was! I saw good in the spirit! And what's happened to him now?! Is he gone forever, just like Zorc?!"

Yugi swallowed hard. "I don't know," he admitted. "But both Atem and I were horrified about the truth of the creation of the Millennium Items. Atem even said that if their places had been switched, he would have been filled with hatred too."

"So he was horrified, just not enough to even try to save him," Bakura spat.

"Bakura, I know how you feel," Yugi started to say.

"No!" Bakura snapped. "You never could! I know you were lonely, Yugi, but you've always had _someone_ around to be with. Your grandfather, your mother . . . ! You have no comprehension of what it's like to be really and truly alone! I know you miss the Pharaoh, but you still have everyone else. For me . . . the spirit of the Ring was all I had left."

Yugi's heart twisted. "He doesn't have to be," he said softly. He held out a hand to help Bakura up.

Bakura stared at it for a moment, almost dumbly. Then, slowly, hesitantly, he took the shorter boy's hand and got to his feet.

Yugi could see in his eyes that he still didn't really believe it, that he was sure this would only last a short while before he was forgotten about again. But Yugi vowed to himself that he would never let that happen. Somehow he and everyone else had missed Bakura's deep-rooted pain and loneliness, but not again. Never again!

"I am so sorry, Bakura," he said now. "You were crying out for so long and none of us saw it."

"The spirit did," Bakura whispered. "He recognized my loneliness for what it was because he too had been all alone for many years, before Zorc fused with him. And he didn't manipulate me because of it. He just empathized with me."

"I'm glad someone did," Yugi said softly.

Bakura looked at Yugi with tortured eyes. "Oh Yugi . . . do you think he's gone forever?"

"I hope not," Yugi said, and found he meant it. "I mean . . . I don't want him to come back and cause trouble, but he was human once . . . and he really did have a horrible life. He wouldn't deserve to be erased out of existence." He hesitated, then pulled Bakura into a hug. "I'll try to find a way to find out what happened to him. Okay?"

"You'd do that?" Bakura said in disbelief.

"Of course," Yugi insisted. "And no matter what I find out, if anything, I won't let you be lonely anymore. I promise!"

For a moment Bakura did nothing, still not sure he believed. But finally he pulled Yugi close, returning the hug as new tears slipped from his eyes.


End file.
